PhotoTwo of Britain’s grocers are in talks to merge, potentially creating the country’s biggest supermarket operator amid continued upheaval in the retail industry. In a statement on Saturday, the chain J Sainsbury confirmed news reports about its talks to combine with Walmart’s Asda supermarket business in Britain, adding that it planned to make an announcement on Monday morning. In Britain alone, chains like the electronics store Maplin and the department store BHS have filed for bankruptcy in recent years. And in the grocery sector, low-cost chains like Aldi and Lidl have lured British customers away from traditional competitors like Sainsbury, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. Since then, however, Walmart has pulled back from that international growth after struggling to crack markets like Germany.

Source: New York Times April 28, 2018 18:45 UTC